This month, Book of the Month chose seven main selections and two add-ons.

Main Picks | Add-Ons | Predictions | My Choices

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Predictions & Thoughts

The June BOTM main selections include one “early release” that comes out at the end of August and several books by repeat authors. Sadly, there are no debut novels included in this month’s selections. But there are several books by BIPOC authors included.

I was mostly happy with BOTM’s choices for August. I think those who are not big thriller fans may be a little disappointed. Although BOTM has done some creative labeling of the selections, a majority fall into the mystery/thriller genre. I enjoy thrillers and am looking forward to some of the non-thrillers that BOTM included for August.

I guessed 8 out of 9 correctly. I was a little surprised by the selection of Karin Slaughter’s new book since she is a super well-known author and only one of her previous books has been selected. Pieces of Her was an add-on last year when the Netflix adaptation came out. Girl, Forgotten is the sequel to Pieces of Her so it makes since that BOTM would include it. (Although there are so many series that BOTM has dropped after the first book to many subscribers’ frustrations!)

Despite being labeled at gothic fiction, I think BOTM subscribers who are fans of fantasy or magical realism will enjoy Small Angels. I am not much of a fantasy reader, but Small Angels sounds intriguing. Plus, how gorgeous is that cover?

Daisy Darker and The Family Remains seemed like obvious BOTM picks for August. Alice Feeney’s previous book was a selection and seemingly sold a lot of BOTM copies. As for The Family Remains, BOTM has chosen several Lisa Jewell books previously, including the prequel – The Family Upstairs.

The Devil Takes You Home is being compared to Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby, which was a runaway hit for BOTM last year. Consequently, it seemed like a safe bet for this month.

I think there will be some subscribers disappointed that TJR’s newest book Carrie Soto is Back is not an August selection. However, it does publish on August 30th so I think there may be a chance that it is a September selection. But I also would not be surprised if TJR is no longer going to be a BOTM author since her popularity is not gigantic.

I think there will also be a selection of people upset that Ali Hazelwood’s new book Love on the Brain is not a selection. Tiktok blew up The Love Hypothesis so Ali Hazelwood does not need BOTM to sell copies. But you never know with BOTM these days if they will include books published the previous month in their selections. In other words, I think it is still safe to hold out some hope for Carrie Soto and Love on the Brain.

My Choices

Main Picks

Luckily, I have multiple BOTM accounts or I would have had a difficult time choosing only three books this month. I have a copy of Bronze Drum on its way from the publisher so that helped take one book out of my box that I would have otherwise picked.

I decided to pass on Small Angels since I do not love fantasy. However, I may revisit it if I see a lot of friends enjoying it that are not big fantasy readers.

I have read strong reviews for When We Were Bright and Beautiful from trusted friends, so I did not think twice about adding it to my box. I also added Daisy Darker since I enjoyed Alice Feeney’s last book and was sadly denied an ARC for Daisy Darker.

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy sounds super interesting and like so many of the BOTM picks that was unexpected but ended up being one of my all-time favorite books. So here is to hoping that it turns out to be as wonderful as it sounds!

I debated whether to get The Devil Takes You Home. As I mentioned, it is being compared to Blacktop Wasteland. I have read both of S.A. Cosby’s previous books and could not get on board with the writing style. Based upon the assumption that the comparison was more because of the storyline and themes, I decided to give The Devil Takes You Home a chance. I also try to select any BOTM books with BIPOC authors if they peak my interest. The best way to encourage a company to support BIPOC authors is with my wallet, after all.

I also thought about choosing Girl, Forgotten as I have enjoyed Karin Slaughter books in the past. However, I think I will wait until I read Pieces of Me to see if I like the characters are continued in Girl, Forgotten. Plus, I have several unread Karin Slaughter books already on my shelves.

Add-Ons

I am being good this month and not adding The Family Remains to my box. I have a copy of The Family Upstairs, but I have not read it yet. Hopefully, this is the first step in me not buying the remaining books in the series when I own the first on unread.

I did choose Mercury Pictures Presents as an add-on. I have heard wonderful things about Anthony Marra’s A Constellation of Vital Phenomena and have an unread copy waiting to be read. So I expect equally great things from Mercury Pictures Presents.

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What books did you choose for your August BOTM selections? Let me know in the comments!